


Sentiment: or, How Loki Worked His Way To The Top

by Daiya_Darko, jessicamiriamdrew, readbetweenthelions



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-05
Updated: 2013-03-05
Packaged: 2017-12-04 09:15:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/709090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daiya_Darko/pseuds/Daiya_Darko, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessicamiriamdrew/pseuds/jessicamiriamdrew, https://archiveofourown.org/users/readbetweenthelions/pseuds/readbetweenthelions
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki Odinson has a simple dream: he wants to rule the catwalk in NYC. But when his brother, Thor, appears unannounced, his dreams seem to be ripped right out from under him. That is, if Loki doesn't play his cards right. It's a long way to the top.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sentiment: or, How Loki Worked His Way To The Top

**Author's Note:**

> all warnings and pairings will be updated as we go. enjoy!

Generally speaking, most people don’t like the sound of an alarm first thing in the morning. It’s obtrusive, loud, and worst of all, it disrupts much needed rest.

Most people hate alarms, but not Loki. 

He sees it as a beacon to start a new day, to get up and grab life by its Steve Madden stilettos. He rolls out of bed with a bounce, and proceeds to get ready for his day, humming his current song obsession, “Van Vogue.” Clint, his best friend, introduced him to it the week before after a photoshoot, and it was just the inspiration he needed to stay on top of his modeling game. 

Modeling is what Loki does as a passion, but well-paying shoots are few and far between. To keep up expenses during the dry periods, he works as a manager at Express. It’s not a bad job, but it’s nothing compared to looking up and seeing your picture in your own store. 

As he heads out the door, dressed to the nines with his satchel slung across his shoulders, Loki feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. A quick glance makes him roll his eyes, but he smiles. 

_work or shoot?_ Clint asks. _Depends on who’s paying more._

_you know this shoot is important right?_

_So are bills._

_stubborn._

_Whore._

_only on saturdays._

Loki laughs, shoving his phone back in his pocket, and decides to go by the studio anyways. The assistant managers will be fine if he does one shoot and shows up later that day. Clint has been his friend for as long as he’s been in New York City. They met when they both auditioned at Stark Modeling and have been inseparable since. Clint’s somewhat reserved until a cute girl or guy walks by, and then he becomes a bubbling fountain of praise and bad pickup lines. Clint had in fact tried to pick up Loki, but Loki responded with a sharp, “I don’t date guys shorter than six foot.” 

Clint sat shocked in awe that someone turned him down until his mouth turned upwards into a grin. “I like people who can turn someone down. That’s an admirable trait.” Rolling his eyes, Loki laughed. “Man, you can’t take a hint, can you?” 

“Hints are for games, and I don’t play games.” 

Their strong personalities clicked immediately, and from there they formed a platonic friendship of mutual respect. 

When Loki bounds into the building, he waves at familiar faces in the lobby before stepping into an elevator and using his ID pass to access the actual shoot floors. Stark Modeling is at the top of its game, but it’s also known for its high security and non-disclosure agreements. The only people who know what happens in the studios are the photographers and models, and they aren’t allowed to speak about their experiences. 

The doors slide open, and it’s all hallway from there. Of course, the plain facade of the simple white walls and vaguely marked doors belie the rooms behind them. Loki quickly makes his way to one marked “Soft” and slips inside. 

It’s a large studio, almost as large as a storage building. The lights and backdrops are already set up, and Loki gives a small wave to Clint in the makeup chair. 

“You took your sweet time coming,” Clint greets, and Loki snorts. 

“That’s why the ladies love me, unlike you,” he sneers, and Clint scrunches his face in offense. 

“That was one time.” 

Loki chuckles as he drops his bag on a table, pinning his hair back. “It was truly unforgettable.” 

After that, it’s all silent except for the sound of music playing from speakers hanging on the rafters and orders occasionally being given by the photographer. They’re unusual sounds, but Loki is used to them, has been for a long time now. 

When they’re both done with hair and makeup, they go to wardrobe and change into silk pajama bottoms. They’re doing a series of ads for Hanes called, “Get in Touch With Your Soft Side” to market silk pajamas to men. The backdrop is white, and there are pillows strewn about, as well as feathers. 

“Guys, I want you to have fun and be relaxed,” their photographer instructs. “You guys were suggested to me because you’re both good friends, right?” 

“Only on Tuesdays,” Clint jokes, and Loki smacks him upside the head with a pillow. 

“Good! Great! I love that, keep going!” Their photographer ducks behind the camera and begins snapping pictures as Loki chases Clint around with a pillow and whacks him with it. Back and forth they go, enjoying being able to hit each other, but keeping in mind it’s a photoshoot, so at times they freeze perfectly still, appearing to be laughing, and other times Clint’s throwing pillows and cursing Loki’s existence. By chance, Loki manages to rupture a down pillow against Clint’s head, and the photographer lets out a cry of triumph. 

“Excellent, gentlemen!” He starts looking back through the camera, grinning wildly. “You two were amazing! I’ll definitely be sure to tell Mr. Stark about this. You should do more shoots together; you have great chemistry.” He begins to turn off and take apart his camera when he looks at Loki and says, “You have a lot of potential. I want to see your face in Times Square one of these days, alright?” 

Beaming proudly, Loki nods. “Thank you so much!” When he looks at the digital clock hanging on a beam, Loki blanches. He hadn’t realized so much time had passed; he needs to get to work. 

“I’m sorry about rushing out like this, but I had prior obligations I must attend to!” He explains, rushing away even as Clint calls after him, “The store’s not going to fall apart if you don’t get there by three!” 

“You never know,” Loki mumbles under his breath as he hurries to get to the train station.” 

Models tend to be consistent; store employees, not so much. 

To his relief, the store _is_ still standing when he arrives, and no one looks angry. It’s clean and being ran smoothly, which is a lot to ask for considering certain workers. 

“Hey boss!” Darcy greets from behind the counter. “How was the shoot?” 

Loki grabs his name pin and fastens it to his shirt. “It went well. I trust everything was fine while I was away?” 

“Of course it was,” Darcy confirms, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Goody two shoes over there wouldn’t let me have any fun.” 

Loki smiles warmly at Jane, who is across the store hanging up shirts. “And that’s why she’s assistant manager. Has she taken lunch?” 

Darcy snorts. “Of course not. Didn’t want to until you came back.” 

Sighing, Loki straightens up and calls, “Jane! Take lunch!” 

Jane looks startled for a second, but gives a thumbs up sign to let him know she heard him. As she scurries to the back room to grab her purse, Loki can’t help but think fondly over his day. He has two jobs, one he loves and one where he loves the people he works with, and the best part is, sometimes he doesn’t know which one is which. 

And then the bills come and that happy care bear shit goes right out the window. 

In the midst of work and helping customers, he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket, but he doesn’t check it. Figuring it’s Clint being nosy and rude as usual, he stows it in his bag in the back. If it were really important, Clint would have called the store or Darcy by now. He puts the thought to the back of his mind and makes a mental note to tear Clint a new one when he gets off work. 

The subway ride home is easier than usual. No one has pissed in the trains he ends up riding on and no one shoves him over. It’s a beautiful ending to a day that’s gone spectacularly. He’s looking forward to going home and watching a marathon of Project Runway, a total guilty pleasure, while eating some leftover Chinese takeout. 

He hums under his breath when he gets off the subway and walks the several blocks to his apartment briskly. Loki nods to the owner of the bakery across the block from his apartment before he opens up the door of his building. He even decides to take the stairs--the exercise seems like a good idea. 

When he sees _Thor,_ his brother, the one he tries to only see on holidays, is sitting in front of his door, he really wishes he’d taken the elevator. As it is, the “ _Thor?_ What are you doing here?” that comes out of his mouth doesn’t have nearly enough oomph behind it. “You might be stupid, but you aren’t stupid enough to take the wrong train to your apartment. Which is in _Staten Island,_ and definitely not Brooklyn.” 

Thor pushes some hair behind his ear and wishes he hadn’t snapped his hair tie earlier. “I got Iaid off, Loki. A few days ago. I can’t afford my rent. I left my apartment this morning and there was an eviction notice on my front door.” He gestures to the bags at his feet. “I don’t have anywhere else to go.” 

“Please,” Loki begs, “Go back to Albany. Mom and Dad will be thrilled to see you. So will all your... _bros._ ” Most of his issues with Thor came as a result of the way Thor refused to tell his friends off for being assholes to Loki. 

“I’m not...I can’t go back there, Loki.” Thor wishes he _could_ go back there, to easy days when everyone liked him because he was the football quarterback. He liked his job as a personal trainer to bigwig business executives but he couldn’t do anything about his job disappearing. “Just until I find a new job and can pay rent, okay?” 

Loki sighs begrudgingly. Thor _is_ family, after all, and he thinks Thor would do the same for him if the situation was reversed. “Yeah, but you’re getting the couch.” 

Thor jumps up from the ground, only momentarily hampered by the bags he’s been clutching, and envelops Loki in a hug. “Thank you, brother! This might even be fun!” 

Loki huffs out a breath and accepts the hug. He has his doubts about how _fun_ it will be to share a studio apartment with the older brother he has nothing in common with, but it might make for good drunken bar stories. 

He barely waits for the two of them to get inside before he whips out his cell phone, opening up a text message screen. 

“Welcome to my apartment, Thor. What you see is what you get.” So what if it’s a crummy studio apartment? It’s in Brooklyn and that’s good enough for him. 

“Thank you, Loki,” Thor says sincerely. It’s true that he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. 

Loki waves a hand dismissively. “It’s only a temporary thing.” He figures it can’t hurt to remind Thor of that, even this early on. 

_Help!!!,_ he texts Clint. _my older brother just moved in with me???_ Loki tries not to wince as Thor slams his bags down by the couch and starts tearing through what appears to be clothes. His phone buzzes and he looks down, grateful that Clint is helping to distract him from the damage Thor is already inflicting on his apartment. 

_is he hot?_

Loki stifles a groan. _my brother moved in to my STUDIO apartment because he lost his job. this isn’t a bonding experience, clint._

“Hey, brother,” Thor calls. “Do you have any more of these?” Loki looks over to the kitchenette to see Thor with leftover lo mein falling from his mouth. 

“I certainly do not, Thor, given that those were leftovers I was planning to eat tonight.” He doesn’t even know what else he has in the fridge. Payday isn’t quite yet and he’d been stretching out those leftovers for a few days. 

_seriously, tho, is he hot, or does he rock that tall dark and emo thing u got goin on?_

_CLINT._ He knows it’s irrational, but he’s starting to wonder how good of an idea it was to let Thor stay here knowing that everyone prefers Thor. He’s pretty sure that Clint is joking, but he spent too many years living in his brother’s shadow to risk losing any of his friends now. 

_calm the fuck down. i’m getting a pizza and coming over._

“What’s the plan for tonight, brother?” Thor asks, planting himself roughly on Loki’s _expensive_ couch. It’s been five minutes, and already Thor’s belongings are littered around the apartment. Dread creeps into Loki’s heart and his best friend is _not helping._

_YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HIT ON MY BROTHER. I DON’T CARE HOW LONG IT’S BEEN SINCE YOU LAST GOT LAID._

Loki _hopes_ Clint is joking. The last thing he needs is Thor finding an excuse to stick around. He likes having his apartment to himself - and only seeing Thor on rare occasions. 

As an afterthought, he texts Clint. _YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE._

Thor has eaten everything in Loki’s apartment by the time Clint buzzes from downstairs. It has been a solid half-hour of nothing but workout tips muffled through mouthfuls of Loki’s food. 

“Pizza delivery!” chimes Clint through the intercom. 

“Please hurry,” Loki begs, pressing the button to allow Clint into the building. 

Loki will say this for Clint: when he enters a room, he really enters a room. Laden with pizza boxes and smirking behind designer sunglasses and packed into tight designer jeans, he’s the very picture of a young New York model. 

“Well, _hellooo,_ ” Clint says, shifting the pizza boxes to one hand and lowering the sunglasses to look over their rims at Thor where he lounges, surrounded by empty food containers. “I’m Clint.” 

“Hello!” Thor booms. He stands with a speed that is surprising on account of his size: it’s like watching a mountain spring to life. Thor extends a hand to shake Clint’s free hand. His palm completely dwarfs Clint’s. “I was just telling Loki we ought to go out to get some dinner! I’m Thor, by the way, Loki’s brother. I’m sure he’s told you much about me.” 

“Ah ha ha,” Clint laughs breezily. Thor lifts the pizza boxes from Clint’s hands, opening the top one and tucking into a slice before he even sets them on the counter. Loki widens his eyes in Clint’s direction. _STOP FLIRTING WITH MY BROTHER,_ he screams in his brain. _DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES FUCK MY BROTHER._

It’s almost as if Clint hears him, because he raises an eyebrow at Loki before commenting to Thor, “Where do you work out? I’d kill to be that cut.” 

“Thank you!” Thor says proudly. “I’m a personal trainer at a gym in Manhattan,” Then his shoulders hunch and he frowns. “Well, at least, I used to be. I lost my job. It’s lucky for me I have such a great brother to take me in!” He pulls Loki into a tight embrace. Loki winces. 

“You’ve got to give me some tips sometime,” Clint says. 

“Don’t give him an excuse,” Loki says under his breath. 

“What was that, Loki?” Clint says. 

“Nothing.” 

“So how are you going to make this work?” says Clint, putting his hands on his hips. “Gonna put a curtain up between the bed and the couch?” 

Loki sighs. It’s a studio apartment. This really cannot go on for longer than a week. Three days. One day tops. In fact, Thor should probably just leave now, and - 

“I don’t mind sharing space with my brother!” Thor says through a mouthful of his second slice of pizza. 

“It isn’t going to be for quite some time,” Loki says. _Shut up, Clint,_ he thinks. _Clint. Shut up._

“Of course!” Thor says. “I hope to be back on my feet in a couple of weeks.” 

A couple of weeks. It echoes around Loki’s brain. _GOD FUCKING DAMN IT,_ he screams into the void. The only response sounds like Thor’s laughter. 

Clint is feeling Thor’s flexing muscles and Loki feels sick to his stomach. _No good deed goes unpunished,_ he thinks. 


End file.
